Geography Club

Okay; could have been better, the writing was a bit flat, characters not well-developed

I haven't found a better young adult book that handles the topic of homosexuality in the realness that Geography Club did. It has a character that kids can easily relate to and is not too far fetched.

This was actually a really good book! It tells the story of a boy who knows he is gay, and he finds out there are other gay teens going to his high school, and they form a club, but they call it the Geography Club because they don't want anyone to know what they're really meeting about. Kind of an

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in-the-closet but yet not club. This was the first novel I've read about gay teens, and I also know it's on a lot of challenged lists, and after reading it, I don't really understand why. Yes, there were gay teens in the book, but it seemed to me that the book was less about being gay than it was about fitting in during High School. Which is a topic all of us can relate to. So it was very insightful and I enjoyed it.

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This sweet little highschool romance grabbed me from the first page. I opened it to see what the writing style was like, and I don't think I blinked until I finished it.
I wish I had had friends as smart and funny and caring as this when I was in high school. ANd there was no stick beating me over

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the head wiht a message, the fact this is about gay (and a bisexual) romances isn't made into a platform, it's just the circumstances of a sweet school story that had me cheering for its hero.

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Russel is certain that he is the only gay kid at his school. One night he goes to a chat room for people in his town and finds out that there is at least one more. As he explores a little more, he finds out that there are several people, including one of his best friends. Because these students

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want to hang out, but think people will be suspicious, they form the "Geography Club" a secret fakeout name to confuse the straight people and is suposed to keep them all out. Of course, nothing goes like planned.

I found the "straight" sex scenes to be a bit nauseating. I thought his suposed best friend was extremely cruel to him and I don't really get why Russel put up with it. Gunnar was just awful on all kinds of levels. And Min seemed pretty tempermental.

One aspect this books covers is that homophobia can be so strong, the gay and lesbian population sometimes feed into it and participate in it. It's a real occurance, but it made me feel somewhat uncomfortable reading it. Not only do the kids stay in the closet throughout the book, but many of the characters don't want to associate with a straight boy because people think he's gay.

I thought the school "goat" was WAY to nice to be realistic. Other than that, the epilogue was a little depressing, but realistic.

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Russel is gay, and he knows he better keep it secret, or he'll be a total outcast in his small-town high school. But then he discovers that there are others like him--including Min, his longtime best friend, and her lesbian lover, as well as gorgeous, popular jock star Kevin. Seven of them form a

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support group (the "Geography Club" is their cover-up name), and for a short time, life is blissful.

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God I wish this had been around when I was IN high school. Funny, frank, insightful and heartfelt. I really enjoyed it and was genuinely surprised at the ending.

Russell Middlebrook is a sophomore in high school. He is also gay. He also believes that he is the only person in the school who is! As the story unfolds, Russell describes the other kids in his school – how there are cliques, with some people in and some out, and some people who no one will

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befriend. When he finds that one of the most popular boys in school is also gay, he confides in his best friend Min who then surprises Russell by stating that she is bisexual. The friends decide they would like to start a club, a place where they could talk about the loneliness and fear they feel about their sexuality. But they do not want everyone – no, anyone – to know. So they start what should be a very unpopular club – the Geography Club. They learn about themselves and others as their friendships are tested.

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Great, engaging YA novel about a kid who starts a secret Gay/Straight Alliance at his high school. (P.S. A lot more fun and way less angsty than the cover makes it look.)

Students secretly organizing a club for gay students yet hoping for staff support select the most boring name they can think of in hopes that their secrets will be safe,

Great YA read about a group of misfits who start a geography club to disguise their need to talk to others about their homosexuality.

Before reading this, I'd skimmed over some reviews (I think on Amazon) and they were mediocre, sort of in the middle. I can see why, there are some plot holes, but overall, it's a cute book that deals with some very real issues. The idea is that our hero, Russel, is gay and hasn't told anyone --

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not his friends, family or anyone. He looks at stuff on the web and suffers through the tortures of PE, but keeps his secret safe. Until one day he meets someone in a chat room and ends up agreeing to meet them. I won't spoil anything, but it's an interesting idea, made even more interesting because the entire story is told from Russel's point of view. We don't have the omniscient narrator trying to tell us what's going to happen. We have to go through things the same way that Russel does, and I think this is one of the novel's strengths. There are a few glitches, especially relating to the boy that Russel meets online and then in person and to his friends. But overall, it's a cute book that has a very nice (if slightly convoluted) point.

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I enjoyed this book. The plot was rather simple and even predictable but it sends a great message and it is an excellent book for gay teens and "outcasts" who are struggling and need that someone to understand.

In the conservative, oppressive town of Goodkind, Russel Middlebrook faces his biggest fear—publicly coming out—as he slowly discovers there are others at his own school, stubbornly questioning and reconciling with their sexualities, just like he is. In this town and in this decade,

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gay-straight alliances are unheard of—scorned, even—but upon kindling a brotherhood with the diverse group of people who are so different from him, and yet so similar, he learns that sometimes being yourself, no matter how hard, is more important than any reputation, any sort of acceptance, and any lie he'd be living otherwise.

I was so impressed by this children's LGBT novel both because of the controversial topic it daringly confronts, and by the strength and grace with which it is written. Russel's realistic first-person narrative—one of the pioneering gay narrations in YA fiction—is a pleasure to read and captures the horrors and injustices of the high school social scene penetratingly, but in an appropriate, parent-approved fashion. I loved him as a character as well; he's so awkward, nice, and hilarious in an adorable teenage boy way. We need more gay narrators for YA!

I also adore Russel's best friends, Min and Gunnar, because they aren't portrayed as the typical "he's been my BFFL and always has my back no matter what" crap. They're so flawed—so flavored—and that makes them so, so real.

This book is touching, frightening, and compelling in all the right paces. It accurately conveys the fear of learning to cross and even break the invisible, vicious barriers within the high school social ladder, but not explicitly; it leaves just enough to the imagination, which is why I wholeheartedly recommend it to the younger crowd, too.

The unexpected alliance Russel finds within Goodkind High School, the belonging and the assurance, highlights the importance of companionship and honesty of which I think all teenagers still need to be reminded. Even though Geography Club was written over ten years ago, the relationships Hartinger portrays stand the test of time in a poignant, universal story that readers of any age and any sexual orientation will love. In Geography Club, a handful of brave, passionate students stumble upon a connection in which they each can be completely honest with each other, as well as with themselves, for the first time in their young lives. This exchange of feelings and struggles that would otherwise be repressed is both gritty and soulful, and constitutes a brilliant coming-of-age novel.

Pros: Interesting, suspenseful storyline // Cutting humor—I laughed out loud so many times! // Realistic, but still lovable characters // Russel's voice is so accurate // Tackles a sensitive issue fluidly and in a way that will encourage young readers

Cons: Not enough rising action... wish there'd been more drama before the final climax

Love: We bought tickets for the stupid romantic comedy rated PG-13, but once we were inside the multiplex, Kimberly said she wanted to see the stupid erotic thriller rated R instead. As for me, I didn't want to see either the romantic comedy or the erotic thriller. I wanted to see the animated Disney musical, which I guess just proved that I really was the gay boy that I'd been thinking all along that I was.
—LOL this is why I love Russel!

Verdict: Brent Hartinger's inspiring and dazzling debut isn't just a novel about gay adolescents; it touches upon important global teen matters of friendship, identity, and the courage to speak out, as well. I loved everything about it—the characters, the voice, the absorbing plot—and think it's one of those books that all young adult (14-16) and maybe the more-mature middle grade (11-14) readers ought to try.

Source: Complimentary copy provided by author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!).

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Read this book once, after the author came to our school (he lived in the area).

Growing up in a small community as a gay male there were often times I had wished that there was literature that would have helped me to see that I wasn't alone. Now as I get a bit older I see that they are actually publishing such novels that showcase that there are gay people in high school. This

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makes my heart very happy since there is a growing epidemic of LGBT suicides in our country due to bullying. These books can help these children to feel that they are not along in their journey. It can give them great power within themselves, even when they are unable to tell anyone else.

This book is about a group of kids at a high school that form a "geography club" which is actually an undercover gay-straight alliance. They think because it is a geography club that no one will want to join up. I mean come on if you remember high school geography was sooooooo not cool. Well that is what they are banking on. The book is believable in the fact that characters run the gamut of popularity and incidences within. Hartinger appears to have been trying to give an accurate portrayal of the high school experience and in my opinion he does a rather good job. He has characters that act out of character with a bit of popularity (what kid with even a hint of unpopularity didn't act weird when someone popular suddenly talked to them or they were put in a situation where they were not treated like crap by them?) Hartinger pays proper respect to those boundaries of the high school experience where you are who you sit with.

If you are uncomfortable reading most LGBT fiction because most of it contains graphic sex then this would be the book for you. There is a few mentions of kissing, but for the most part this is just a nice book about friends, the high school experience, and love. It shows what is possible when someone in the LGBT community thinks outside of the stereotypical book of what this community will purchase. There is a power in providing something to a wider audience because it shows that there are multiple types in this one community, but so much of the literature for LGBT has to have some guy standing in his boxer briefs on the cover. You will have a couple of scenes of boxer briefs, but it is only in the appropriate places in this book which is contained with the pages and in the locker room where it should be expected. I recommend taking the time to read this book and sharing it with others that want to understand that not everyone in the LGBT Community fits into a box or a stereotype.

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Russel believes he's the only gay student at Goodkind High School. His outlet is gay chat rooms. One day he meets a gay student online who goes to his high school. They agree to meet and he turns out to be Kevin, school jock. Russel confides in one of his best friends Min, who herself reveals that

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she is bisexual and is secretly dating Therese of the soccer team. Now that they've found classmates with a connection, they decide to meet regularly under the guise of the Geography Club, a club name they figure is so boring no one would join and so their cover won't be blown. Book seems to routinely hit all the possible feelings of a gay teen on the outside, as if the author wanted to let gay readers know it's OK to feel like this and this and this. Paralleling the point is the inclusion of Brian Bund, school outcast.

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This is a great book about growing up and trying to find a place in the world. Doubly difficult if you're gay (like the main character) or GLBTQ.

Russel is very lonely, at first thinking he's the only gay kid at his high school with 1,800 pupils. As he discovers Kevin via a chatroom and more gay

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kids via his best friend Mim (who turns out to be bi), he is encouraged at first. But they soon face the pressure of the outside world and realize that nothing (in terms of their place and hopes) is solved just because they're all gay and have found each other. On the contrary, banding together will only be seen as suspicious. Even the formation of the 'Geography Club' as 'camouflage' doesn't help longer term. Many of them end up as alone as they started.

Written in the fist person, I thought it was an honest and accurate description of the issues any kid (and many adults) go through when they discover they are different. Even though this story has a gay main character, much of what he discovers has potential for a wider application. Russel learns about himself and what he wants out of life and the sense of humor that never really leaves him makes it all a little more bearable.

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This book was pretty cute. I think it would be great for younger teenagers. But it didn't really do anything original, I guess. I wasn't particularly thrilled with it.

A well-written book on a relatively rare topic. A group of homosexual students find each other within their high school, all from different cliques, and need an excuse to hang out together. They create the Geography Club because they would have the use of a classroom, but other students would think

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it was so boring that no one else would ever join.

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Stupid internet. I am not writing this review again. It's well-executed; definitely the best 'gay teen' book I've read. Not genius, but you can't have everything. Cliches are used, but not with an overly heavy hand. I cared a surprising amount about the characters and wanted to read more---lots

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more. I still want to know who 'patient zero' was!

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